The Origin Story: The first encounter between Varique and Ryan happened in typically random fashion one Sunday evening in a bar in Shanghai. Ryan, having just finished playing a football tournament at the neighbouring football stadium, had popped over for some liquid refreshments. Varique, on the other hand, having just tracked down her lost phone in the same vicinity, decided to meet one of her friends at the same bar, in order to make the most of the long journey downtown. The subtly named and ostensibly Mexican 'Cactus Bar', which specialised in the classic Mexican delights of Stella Artois and pizza, no longer exists in Shanghai (possibly due to the tough economy, possibly due to a terrible business model). However, had it not been for that fateful night in that ill-fated establishment then the following timeline that you are about to read may well never have existed at all...so, long live The Cactus! What followed was a flurry of regular dates, ranging from the typical (dinner, drinks, dancing, etc.) to the very much atypical (each painting a terrible representation of Van Gogh's portrait, for example). And, by all accounts, everything was going swimmingly, until - one day - the world was changed forever...

Ok, that last comment was slightly dramatic, admittedly, but the virus 'that shall not be named' certainly provided an early test in the relationship. Long periods of lockdown followed by returns to England and South Africa, respectively, resulted in a rather uneventful and 'unphotoworthy' 2022, particularly for an uplifiting wedding story. However, fast forward to April 2023 and the bright lights of Shanghai were back in full flow. Life had finally started to feel good again...real again....and, as a result, the relationship was about to grow exponentially from here on...

If you didn't know any better then you might think, from this photo, Ryan and Varique were just being overly cautious at a local park fountain, but, in reality, the two of them had just made their first overseas trip together, to Moalboal in Phillipines, and are embracing the ever-so-mild perils of canyoneering. This trip would trigger a series of subsequent holidays, spanning several continents, all in the name of fun, family, frivolity, and baked goods (more on this to follow...)

In December of 2023 Ryan decided to give Varique a well-deserved break from all the sun-soaked, golden-sanded Christmas holidays that she was accustom to in Cape Town, and take her to his home town of Nottingham, where non-stop rain and gale-force winds gave Varique a less-than-wonderful first impression of Old Blighty. Not to be deterred, Ryan tried to show Varique the very best that England had to offer - from historic castles and live sporting events, to West End theatre and some local pantomime featuring Alfie Moon from Eastenders - the experience was successful in providing Varique with a new love for England...a love that some say rivalled even her love for Ryan... and that, specifically, was her new found love, passion, and adoration for Greggs (particularly Chicken Bakes and Steak Slices). It may not have been the elegance of Buckingham Palace or the pazazz of West End theatre that had done it, but Ryan had at least succeeded in finding a worthwhile reason for Varique to visit the UK again and again in the future!

But, believe it or not, those golden puff-pastry delights were not the biggest highlight of the trip. That, of course, was the opportunity for Varique to meet Ryan's family for the first time. A family that she can now call her own, as the Smith-King families started to merge ever-closer together!

Only a couple of months later and the roles were reversed. This time, it was Varique taking Ryan out of his comfort zone (which, admittedly, is any place where the temperature is above 25°C) and making the long journey south to Cape Town. Before the journey, a friend of Ryan had described Cape Town to him as 'the land of milk and honey'. What they had failed to mention, quite egregiously, was that it was also the land of incredible wine and seafood at prices that would not even afford you a pint of Carling and a packet of pork scratchings in the UK. The 10 days or so that followed - which included a safari, a braai, a vineyard wine tasting tour, a live Twenty20 cricket final at Newlands, a trip around a seal island, and even interacting with penguins on a beach - was more than enough for Ryan to see all the proverbial 'milk and honey' that Cape Town did indeed have to offer.

But, of course, as amazing as these activities were, the real significance of the journey to SA was the opportunity for Ryan to meet Varique's family for the first time, including Patrick, Varadine. and Varique's adopted brother, Liam. The occasional and seamless switches between English and Afrikaans mid-conversations did take some getting used to, but, regardless, it seems Ryan had instantly hit it off with, what would turn out to be, his future mother and father in-law!

Ryan and Varique view birthdays very differently. For Ryan, he usually only realises it's his birthday when somebody mentions it, in passing, at work that same morning. For Varique, however, it is an exciting and elaborate sequence of events that requires careful planning and consideration. On this particularly birthday, in 2024, the happy couple and their close friends got together for an intense 'murder mystery' dinner party. Ryan, being of a certain age, assumed the whole time it was Colonel Mustard who had committed the murder, in the billiards room...using the lead pipe. Varique played a complex and heavily involved character at the party - the owner of the casino at which all the other players were guests - which required specific dialogue, conversations, and dramatic performances throughout the night. Ryan, on the other hand, played an international business man whose only requirements were to mingle, make small talk with the guests, and have a few drinks...a role he had no problems in making his own!

Varique, through no fault of her own, had become somewhat of a 'WAG' (as one might say in England) during her time with Ryan, as she became enthusiastically involved (on days where it was not raining, of course) in supporting him (and hurling the occasional words of abuse at the opposition) as she watched him captain a Saturday and Sunday team, weekend after weekend, in the twilight of his career. Fortunately, the year of 2024 proved a successful one, as two league titles and a 'prestigious' Suzhou world cup were claimed within a period of a few months, making it all worthwhile, and allowing Ryan to edge ever closer to the freedom of football retirement!

As memorable as the December of 2023 had been for Ryan and Varique in meeting Ryan's Nottingham-based family, the summer of 2024 was equally significant as Ryan (being half Welsh) took Varique to the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastal town of Milford Haven, to meet his father's side of the family, including his two aunts and his 'Nana' (pictured). Unfortunately, Nana Pearl passed away only 8 months after this photo, after living an adventurous and action-packed 96 year life, but her significance in Ryan's life growing up will live on forever.

Ryan and Varique had barely unpacked their bags back in Shanghai when they were again jetting off back to England in late August for the wedding of Ryan's youngest brother, Ben, to Hannah. Travelling to England and back from Shanghai in the space of a long weekend may have been a whirlwind, but it was one that was more than worth the journey as the whole family gathered to see the first of Ryan's siblings tie the knot in a beautiful countryside setting in The West Midlands.

If there is ever an occasion where it is acceptable to forget your age and dress up in quasi-appropriate clothing, then Halloween is most certainly that occasion! Over the years, Ryan and Varique have explored their own takes on classics such as X-Men's Storm, Old-Man Logan, and Zombie Teacher (not technically an X-Men, more a last minute outfit created by Ryan simply by adding red kecthup 'blood' to his normal work outfit). In this photo, we see the ever-popular trio of Elektra, Wolverine, and the enigmatic Dogpool, ready to take Shanghai by storm (pun very much intended).

As somebody not-so-famously once said, "Second time's the charm," and this was certainly the case as Ryan and Varique made their second trip to Cape Town in the space of 10 months, to see if all of that famous 'milk and honey' had been replenished since their last visit. This was Ryan's first non-winter Christmas, and he enjoyed taking a break from some of his usual Christmas traditions in England, like buying endless umbrellas, or catching the flu. Christmas is a very important time for Varique's family, which has a huge emphasis on family, charity and community, and Ryan was privileged to have been a part of that. Varique's parents had been slightly confused as to why Ryan had not presented Varique with a gift on Christmas Day, but the mystery behind that is about to be swiftly unravelled...

...and here comes the unraveling, as promised...! Prior to Christmas, Varique and Ryan had been secretly 'ring-shopping' in Cape Town. After all, had Ryan attempted to buy Varique a surprise engagement ring without Varique's stylistic eye and involvement, then it is safe to say that the gift receipt would have been put into action pretty swiftly! However, with the perfect 'fiancé-approved' ring now in hand, (or pocket, technically), all that was left was for Ryan to find the perfect opportunity to pop that all-important question! Many special days and accompanying bottles of champagne came and went between Christmas and New Years, but it was on the 4th January - one of the most insignificant, non-noteworthy days in the whole yearly calendar - at a busy upmarket restaurant with Varique's parents, when Ryan decided the time was right to ask Varique to marry him! Varique's parents, who were of course more surprised than Varique at this point, were hugely overjoyed, as were the newly engaged couple and, to quote a famous Monty Python Movie, there was much rejoicing!

Back in Shanghai a few days later, and some of Ryan and Varique's close friends joined them at The Captain for a very happy and emotional evening as they officially celebrated their engagement and started to put theoretical wedding plans into motion, which would materialise into actual wedding plans only a few months later!

Finally, a heartfelt message from the soon-to-be bride and groom: This is Freya, the dog. You may think Freya resembles Dogpool from the earlier photo, but it is definitely not the same dog, or at least Freya assures me as such. "How can that dog be me, it's wearing a red harness?!" said Freya, and she has a good point to be fair. Anyway, secret identities aside, Freya will sadly not be joining us for the wedding due to some, and I quote, "definitely NOT superhero-related business" over that period. However, we do look forward to welcoming all of our non-canine friends and family to see us tie the knot at L'Avenir Wine Estate on 21st February 2026. We understand (as well as anybody!) that SA is quite a journey for many of you, particularly those of you that don't live at the South Pole, and we really appreciate all the effort and expense you will all be undertaking to attend our special day. With that being said, you will be spending several days in what is genuinely one of the best cities in the world (remember all the 'milk and honey'), so we are sure it will be an amazing and unforgettable experience for everybody (if this were WeChat, I would probably now insert some kind of party-themed GIF here to help end the chat in style...) But, as technology has failed me...see you all in February 2026! Ryan & Varique x